Financial Data

by rebecca rebecca No Comments

Member Spotlight: Morningstar

Morningstar empowers investor success by providing independent investment data, research, and analysis to investors of all kinds. This spirit of independence and transparency ignited in 1984, when Joe Mansueto left his job as a stock analyst. He realized that investors lacked the information they needed to make intelligent decisions about which investments best fit their plans. At the same time, he saw mutual funds growing in popularity as the tides were shifting away from company pensions to 401(k) plans. What was missing, he thought, was investment research for the average investor. Joe turned his idea into a new business with high aspirations—to help investors reach their financial goals.

Today, Morningstar provides data and research insights on a wide range of investment offerings, including managed investment products, publicly listed companies, private capital markets, debt securities, and real-time global market data. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries, with approximately $260 billion in assets under advisement and management as of September 30, 2021. Morningstar is a global firm with operations in 29 countries.

Individual investors use Morningstar to make educated investment decisions. These investors want pertinent facts they can trust from an independent source, delivered in easy-to-understand formats. Financial advisors and other investment professionals turn to Morningstar for tools that help them research, analyze, present, and support their investment ideas. Morningstar’s research, analytics, and investment management services help advisors make more efficient use of their time and deliver better investment outcomes to clients.

The backbone of Morningstar’s independence and transparency is its commitment to research that illuminates investing. Recently published research available on www.morningstar.com includes:

  • The “Morningstar Sustainable Investing Framework” provides the critical need for clarity in the rapidly growing environmental, social, and governance investing space.
  • Morningstar’s behavioral science team recently published, “Drivers of Savings Inequality by Race and Place,” on factors that influence the differences in savings rates in American households.
  • Newly published, “The State of Retirement Income,” reassesses safe withdrawal rates for retirees, finding that the standard rule of thumb should be lowered to 3.3% from 4%.

Morningstar® ByAllAccountsSM and FDATA
Morningstar ByAllAccounts is a data aggregator built to deliver high-quality, interoperable account data for the complex needs of the wealth management industry. It works closely with the FDATA Community and is the only aggregation provider that focuses exclusively on investors, advisors, and the enterprises who support them.

“At ByAllAccounts, the data we provide our customers is mission critical to powering holistic financial planning,” says Katy Gibson, head of product for Morningstar ByAllAccounts. “As such, we are big proponents of open banking because it gives us the ability to connect to reliable and secure data sources with minimal connectivity disruptions. As members of FDATA we will continue to advocate for the investment use case, ensuring the unique needs of investors and professionals that serve them are met.”

For more information on Morningstar and Morningstar ByAllAccounts, click here.

by rebecca rebecca No Comments

Member Spotlight: MX

Founded in 2010, MX helps organizations everywhere connect to consumers’ financial data to deliver intelligent and personalized money experiences. MX leads the industry with the most secure, reliable and direct API connections to the world’s top financial institutions using the most advanced AI and machine learning enhancement engine to categorize transaction data with 98 percent coverage. By connecting with 16,000 financial institutions and fintechs, MX provides the industry’s most reliable and secure data connectivity network reaching more than 200 million consumers worldwide.

MX has been a leader in the open banking movement in North America with their approach to modern connectivity. Chief Advocacy Officer, Jane Barratt, explained to Bankrate, “Open banking isn’t something that you only need once when you apply for a mortgage. It means you can use the data that you have, it’s yours, and [you can] share it with companies that can help you improve your financial health. Whether it’s access to cheaper forms of credit, use different money management tools or whether it’s to set up direct payments. There are [numerous things you can do to make] your money more automated and it is all based on data availability.”

With the launch of MXaccess, MX provides an open finance API platform for banks, credit unions, digital banks and digital banking providers. MXaccess improves the data sharing experience for customers by removing friction and frustration due to broken connections caused by screen scraping and provides a transparent and secure method to share data.

In addition to improving the data sharing experience for the financial industry’s ecosystem, Tearsheet recently honored MX with its Best Aggregator/Fintech Partnership Award for 2021. MX won the award for its work with FormFree, a technology company that improves lenders’ ability to make more informed decisions about borrowers and minimizes lenders’ risk via a seamless loan application experience for borrowers. By using MX’s modern connections, the average aggregation time for FormFree connections fell 89 percent, declining from an average of 3 minutes and 30 seconds to just 22 seconds. This improvement boosted FormFree’s revenue by 15 percent.

MX’s CEO Ryan Caldwell has made it clear that MX is on a mission to improve the financial ecosystem by increasing trust, managing risk and enabling the exchange of customer data to improve outcomes and financial health. Last year, Caldwell explained to KSL.com that 80 percent of the U.S. workforce lives paycheck to paycheck causing individuals and families to feel “real pain” and serious stress. MX is helping ease that pain by working with traditional financial institutions and fintechs to aggregate accounts and credit cards into one platform making it easier for individuals and families to make data-driven decisions and become financially strong.

by rebecca rebecca No Comments

Member Spotlight: Basis Theory

According to Government Technology magazine, there were more than 1,900 data breaches in the United States in 2020. In 2019 and 2020 alone, about 16 billion records were breached, and the average cost for a single breach is $7.7 million for companies with less than 500 employees. Breaches also grew in severity between 2019 and 2020.

At the same time, there are projected to be more than 25 billion internet-connected devices online by the end of this decade. That means more data. In fact, the quantity of data creation is expected to increase to more than 180 zettabytes over the next five years.

These numbers boggle the mind — and they put consumers, businesses, and policymakers on edge.

Enter Basis Theory.

Basis Theory has built a developer platform for encryption and tokenization that can accommodate any type of data (including sensitive payments data). The company, launched in 2021 and fully distributed, helps financial services and financial technology clients stay in complete control of their customer’s data without taking on the compliance burden. The company was built during the COVID-19 pandemic, when, overnight, consumers become even more reliant on technology to shop, order take out, see their doctor and, of course, bank. Over those months of isolation, founders Brian Billingsley, Colin Luce, and Ben Milne and their team of engineers “built a secure PCI-compliant foundation to enable the collection and storage of payments data” on the Basis Theory platform.

Milne has written that he, Billingsley, and Luce wanted to create a company that could “offer a product to developers globally to help make protecting data easier.” Why? As he explained, “In many cases it’s not just about securing data at rest in all of these devices but about enabling privacy for end users ensuring their data only goes to third parties who are capable of protecting it. That’s a trend [that] will continue until it’s solved by a company or a protocol, but more likely some combination of both.”

Basis Theory also helps its clients:

  • Adhere to privacy regulations and comply with new and upcoming regulations, domestically and internationally, including PCI and the new Nacha rules;
  • Optimize payments acceptance;
  • Safely secure and manage user credentials and third-party API keys; and
  • Secure any data, document, or image a client does not want stored in plaintext.

Basis Theory became a part of FDATA North American and the North American open banking movement to “ensure the safety, security and privacy of the continued proliferation of data sprawl and not let any associated concerns stifle innovation within financial services”.

by rebecca rebecca No Comments

Member Spotlight: M Science

M Science is a groundbreaking analytics firm that provides research, data, and pioneering methodologies to financial institutions and corporations. Their experts take unstructured data in near real-time and discern critical insights that help clients make smarter, more informed business decisions. Specifically, the firm provides:

  • Data-driven research that leverages data and domain expertise to provide in-depth analysis and insights on public and private companies.
  • Direct access to experts for more in-depth research and insights.
  • Data analytics that enable investment management and corporate clients to integrate curated data into their own workflow and process.
  • Data dashboards, in a web-based, on-demand platform hosting multi-sourced data feeds that are curated and customizable to clients’ needs.

Founded in 2002, the company serves clients around the world from offices in New York, Portland, London and Hong Kong.

A cornerstone of M Science’s offering is its compliance first approach to partnerships though its comprehensive due diligence program and commitment to consumer privacy.

At the core of M Science’s mission is the belief that data can revolutionize the way the world does business. In a June 2020 Forbes column, M Science’s Michael Marrale explained, “By creating insights derived from disparate datasets and expertly synthesized by alternative data analysts, operators and investors have granular visibility into company business operations.”

The alternative data M Science provides also has revolutionized the marketplace for institutional investors. In an April 2019 Marketwatch column, Marrale said, “Alternative data provides investors with a greater degree of transparency into how companies are performing. From purchase data that tracks retail sales, to social analytics that measure online brand popularity, to geo data that measures locations and traffic, investors can now take a much deeper look into business operating fundamentals in a way our research landscape didn’t previously allow.”

M Science continues to use their insights to help businesses navigate shifts caused by COVID-19, most recently by launching a new Retail and Consumer Brands Intelligence Platform. Leveraging tested analytic models and a myriad of data inputs, the solution delivers insights to more than a dozen industries including Animals and Pet Supplies, Apparel, Garden and Home, Sporting Goods, and Toys and Games. The platform’s focus on ecommerce makes it a valuable tool for traditional retailers and brands, as well as DTC and online-only players. As noted by Head of Product Elizabeth Coleman, this information will prove “more valuable than ever” as players in the space try to address shopping behaviors changed by the pandemic.

In addition to providing a revolutionary approach to data and research, M Science is an industry leader in its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Indeed, this commitment fuels an innovative mindset within the company. M Power, M Science’s diversity taskforce steers recruiting and educational initiatives to foster diverse perspectives and an environment that drives better results. M Science also is proud to collaborate with American Corporate Partners (ACP), a national non-profit organization dedicated to helping military veterans transition to the private sector through one-on-one mentoring relationships with corporate professionals.

by rebecca rebecca No Comments

FDATA North America Statement on Mastercard Acquisition of Finicity

FDATA North America Statement on Mastercard Acquisition of Finicity

Contact: Kerrie Rushton, (202) 365-6338, [email protected]

June 23, 2020, Washington, DC: Steve Boms, executive director of the Financial Data and Technology Association (FDATA) North America released the following statement regarding Mastercard’s acquisition of Finicity:

“Mastercard’s acquisition of Finicity is the latest sign that open finance is the future of consumer and small business financial services. As we have seen in every other market that has implemented such regimes, establishing a legal right in which consumers and small businesses can access and share their financial data with trusted third parties is paramount to implementing open finance frameworks. FDATA North America continues to urge U.S. policymakers to follow suit.”

ABOUT FDATA NORTH AMERICA
FDATA was heavily involved in the UK Open Banking Working Group in 2015. In 2016, the working group’s output was published by Her Majesty’s Treasury as the Open Banking Standard. FDATA North America was founded in early 2018. Its members collectively provide tens of millions of consumers in Canada, the United States and Mexico with aggregation-based tools to better manage their finances. Existing FDATA North America members include: air (the Alliance for Innovative Regulation), API Metrics, Betterment, Direct ID, Envestnet Yodlee, Experian, FGS, Fiserv, Flinks, Interac, Intuit, Kabbage, Mogo, Morningstsar, M Science, MX, Petal, Plaid, Questrade, Quicken Loans, TransUnion, Trustly, VoPay, Wealthica and others.

by rebecca rebecca No Comments

FDATA North America Statement on Clearing House Purchase of Akoya

FDATA North America Statement on Clearing House Purchase of Akoya

Contact: Kerrie Rushton, (202) 365-6338, [email protected]

February 20, 2020, Washington, DC: Steve Boms, executive director of the Financial Data and Technology Association (FDATA) North America released the following statement regarding The Clearing House’s acquisition of Akoya:

“The Clearing House is a banking association and payments company that is owned by the world’s largest commercial banks. Its purchase of Akoya, a data aggregation firm founded by one of America’s largest investment firms, represents a significant potential threat to competition and innovation in financial services technology, as well as to consumers’ ability to obtain personalized financial services from providers they’ve selected as best suited to help them. If the new entity is allowed to consolidate and control consumer financial data, it will potentially prevent other third parties from accessing that data even if individuals and small businesses permission that access, by giving their consent for their data to be shared.

“Consumers’ and small businesses’ rights to access, use and control their financial data are threatened by this merger. FDATA North America and its members are committed to implementing consumer-centric open finance technology and services that promote financial inclusion and that improve the financial well-being of American families and small businesses. We believe this purchase will not advance either goal and serves only to underscore the need for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to assert its authority under Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to promulgate a legal right for consumers and small businesses to control their financial data.” 

ABOUT FDATA NORTH AMERICA
FDATA was heavily involved in the UK Open Banking Working Group in 2015. In 2016, the working group’s output was published by Her Majesty’s Treasury as the Open Banking Standard. FDATA North America was founded in early 2018. Its members collectively provide tens of millions of consumers in Canada, the United States and Mexico with aggregation-based tools to better manage their finances. Existing FDATA North America members include: air (the Alliance for Innovative Regulation), Betterment, Envestnet Yodlee, FGS, Flinks, Intuit, Kabbage, Lendified, Mogo, Morningstsar, M Science, MX, Petal, Plaid, Questrade, Quicken Loans, Petal, Plaid, The ID Co., TransUnion, Trustly, VoPay, Wealthica and others.

Top